"This is a fine conclusion, truly, of my voyage," said he, as he
almost buried himself in a sumptuous feather-bed, and drew the fresh
white sheets up to his chin. "Here am I, instead of finding a bag of
money to carry home, launched in a strange place, with scarcely a
stiver in my pocket; and, what is worse, have jumped ashore up to my
very ears in love into the bargain. However," added he, after some
pause, stretching himself and turning himself in bed, "I'm in good
quarters for the present, at least; so I'll e'en enjoy the present
moment, and let the next take care of itself; I dare say all will work
out, 'some hew or other,' for the best."
As he said these words, he reached out his hand to extinguish the
candle, when he was suddenly struck with astonishment and dismay, for
he thought he beheld the phantom of the haunted house staring on him
from a dusky part of the chamber. A second look reassured him, as he
perceived that what he had taken for the spectre was, in fact, nothing
but a Flemish portrait, that hung in a shadowy corner just behind a
clothes-press. It was, however, the precise representation of his
nightly visitor:--the same cloak and belted jerkin, the same grizzled
beard and fixed eye, the same broad slouched hat, with a feather
hanging over one side.
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